Fountain pen



l. SALZ FOUNTAIN PEN oct. 26, 1937.

Filed De. 18; 193e INVENTOR lll Ian.,

WITNESSES Igna/f Salz BY M ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE This invention relates to improvements in fountain pens and has particular relation to fountain pens in which lthe writing fluid is` pro-y duced in the reservoir or well by means of an ink cartridge. pellet, or stick and a suitable solvent therefor.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide an improved pen of this character inI which the ink stick or cartridge can be inserted in the reservoir and will remain therein, gradually dissolving, for repeated iillings of the reservoir. The ink stick or pellet is held in such a vmanner that it will not be crushed 'or destroyed by reciprocations of the filling plunger when the penis filled and so as not to interfere with the maximum reciprocation of the plunger so that the maximum amount of uid can be drawn into the reservoir.

A further object is the provision of`an improved pen of this character which can be economically manufactured, which will last for a long period of time with freedom from wear. which can be easily cleaned. and in which an ink pellet can be conveniently inserted and will be held in the reservoir in such' a manner as to serve for repeated fillings o f the reservoir with a solvent.

I accomplish part by providing in the reservoir of the pen a perforated tube for holding the ink pellet ro1* stick, the tube and perforations. therein being so arranged that when a solvent such as water is introduced into the reservoir a portion Aof the stick or pellet will dissolve forming a writing fluid. The tube protects the undissolved portion' of the pellet or stick and prevents it from being crushed. Furthermore, the tube is so positioned as not to interfere with the reciprocationof the filling plunger. y For a fuller understanding of the invention reference should be` had to the accompanyingV drawing in Which- Fig. `l is a longitudinal'sectional view of a fountain pen embodying my invention;v

Fig, 2 is a similar view of a modified type of pen embodying my invention; Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly broken away, of the well or reservoir portion of the pen;

Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly broken away, ofy

the perforated tube used in the form of my invention shown in Flg.2; and f f f Y Fig. 5 is a' longitudinal sectional view of a modified type of reservoir or well.

Referring to the first form oi my invention, my pen has a nib I0 and a feeder Il of conventional design which are connected in the usual manner the above'and other objects in in the end of the barrel I2.' the feederbeingprof` vided with air and. fluid ducts4 connecting the nib with the well or reservoirlof'the barrel. y

The barrel includes an end portion shownr atv i4 which supports the nib and feeder and which is provided with a reduced externally threaded shank I5 to which the well or reservoir portion of the barrel i6 is threaded. The upperr end of the reservoir or well portion is yprovided with a shank I1 of reduced diameter to which is threaded the upper end of the barrel indicated at i8. The three sections ofthe barrel are of such a size and shape as to properly flttogether and forma unitary fountain pen barrel of harmonious appearance. The barrel is preferably made ofsome plastic material such as cellulose acetate, pyroxylin, or the like, and the reservoir ror Well portion I 6 is preferably transparent so that'the'A amountof writing fluid in the well can readily be ascertained.

An opening I9 is preferably formed through the upper end of the reservoir or. well portion IB to receive the hollow stemV 2li of the reciprocating plunger or piston which is "used in filling the well. Aroundy the lower. end of thestem 2U an annular washer 2| is provide'dand it is preferably formed of cork composition material, leather or the like,

which will form sealing engagement betweenthelower end of the stem andy the inside of the well, thus forming a suitable piston or plunger to be use'd in filling the well.

As previously'stated, the stem 20" is hollow, being provided with a central duct 22 extending from the lower end thereof to adjacent thetop where it communicates with a duct 23 of reduced diameter extending to the top of the stem. The upper end o f the stem is likewise of. reduced diameter and is externally threaded so as to receive the cap vor closure 2l which when it isthreaded to the top of the stein, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, provides sealing engagement therewith.k l

For receiving and protecting the ink sticks or pellets I provide a perforatedtube 25 in the inside of the reservoir which may be suitably held in position as by. being threaded into the upper end of the feeder as indicated at 26. The tube preferably extends substantially theentire length to project inside the duct 22 of the well so.as

formed in the plunger stem even when the plung er is in elevated position ,as-shown in Fig. 1.

The tube 25 is hollow havinga central bore 2lA with a number of perforations .29f-whichmay be c spaced as desired. I have found thatfeur perfox-ations positioned as illustrated in Fig. -1 pro--V duce very satisfactory results but the number and arrangement may be varied.

In using my pen the end i8 of the barrel and the cap 24 of the piston stem are removed and an ink stick or pellet of a size to fit in the tube 25, such as is illustrated at 25 is then inserted through the duct or bore in the stem until it falls downwardly into the tube 25.' The cap 24 is screwed tightly in place so as to form sealing engagement with the stem, and the plunger is then forced downwardly so as to evacuate the contents of the well. The nib and end of the feeder are then inserted in a suitable solvent for the ink stick or pellet, such as water, and the plunger raised to the elevated position shown in Fig. l. As soon as water enters the well and comes into contact with the stick in the perforated tube .it will cause a slight swelling thereof and will hold it tightly in position in the tube and prevent it from falling downwardly by gravitylnto the duct 22 in the stem 20 when the pen is turned so that Vthe nib points upwardly. 'I'he water will graduallyv dissolvethe ink in the ink pellet or stick until a suitable writing'iluid is formed in the bar rel. One illling of the well will normally only dissolve a small portion of the ink pellet or stick with the result that after all of the writing fluid in the wellhas been used it can again be filled with waterand additional writing fluid will be formed.` This can be repeated a number of times or until all ofthe pellet or stick' has been consumed. In practice I- have found that a single pellet or stick will last for many nllings and will n provide ink for a considerable period of time.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modified form of the invention in which the nib, feeder, barrel and reciprocating plunger are of substantially the same construction as that shown in Fig. 1. "Ihe perforated tube 25, howe'/e r,`is supported in the well or reservoir in 'a slightly different manner. Instead of being threaded directly in an opening formed in the upperend `of the feeder it is secured in the upper end of an inverted cup Ill which in Vturnfis threaded to the reduced end portion of the member il. The cup Il is formed with a plurality fof'passageways Ii extending through the disk portion lthereof so as to permit communication between the well andthe feeder so that the well can be filled with water and so that the writing fluid can feed to the' nib. 'I'he reduced end portionv of the member Il is indicated at I5' and isof slightly smaller diameter than the portion i5 in the first form of my invention. The cup Il is screwed thereto by means of a lefthand thread. 'I'he cup 5l is also externally threaded'and thewell portion il of the barrel is screwed thereto by means of a righthand thread. In thisway removal of the well I5 will not cause unscrewing of the cup Il. This is most clearly brought out in Fig. 4` where the internal lefthand threads are indicated at 32 and the external righthandjthreads at 3l.v

The operation of the pen shown in Fig. 2 is the sameas' has been-shown in Fig. l with the In Fig. 5 I have shown a modified form of well or reservoir which is somewhat easier to clean than that shown in the first two figures of my drawings. This type of well construction is particularly suited for use in connection with a perforated tube 25 as shown in the first form of nLv invention in Fig. 1. 'I'he shank indicated at il which is of reduced diameter and corresponds to the shank in the first form of my invention, instead of being formed integral with the remainder of the Well portion, is threaded thereto in the manner of a cap as indicated at I5. It is provided, as in the first form, with an opening il to receive the piston stem. The well portion is assembled with the barrel as in the first form of my invention. In cleaning the apparatus the shank il may be removed from the remainder of the well portion thereby exposing a larger opening and facilitating the task of cleaning the inside of the well.

It will be seen that by means of the illustrated and described embodiments of my invention I have provided a fountain pen of improved constructionlwhich is adapted yto receive and retain in 'the well thereof an ink pellet or stick in such a manner that the undissolved portions of the pellet will be protected and so that it may be used for repeated fillings. It will be seen furthermore that the pen is of relatively simple construction and that it can be conveniently filled and cleaned.

It should be understood of course that modincations may be made inthe illustrated and described embodiments of my invention without `departing from the invention as deiined in the accompanying claims.

I claim: y

1. In a fountain pen, Y a.' hollow cylindrical member forming a well,'a nib, a feeder extending between the wellv and nib, 4a second hollow cylindrical member supporting said nib and feeder, and a perforated tube in said well for holding anv ink stick or pellet, said perforated tube being supportedv on a collar threaded to said second cylindrical member' and said first cylindrical member being threaded to said collar by an oppositely turned thread.

2. In a fountain pena hollow cylindrical barrel forming a well, a' perforated tube for holding an ink pellet or the like mounted inside the barrel and projecting into the well, a piston inside the well and having an operating stem for reciprocating the piston extending beyond the endof the barrel,.'said piston and stem being formed with' an opening communicating with the tube and through which an ink pellet may be inserted into the tube, and a removable closure for the opening.

3. In a fountain pen, a tubular barrel forming a well, a nib, a member forming a feeder between the well and nib, a perforated tube secured to said member and projecting longitudinally through the well for a substantial portion of the length thereof, a piston inside the well and having an operating stem for reciprocating the piston extending beyond the end of the barrel, said piston and stem being formed with a central bore communicating with and adapted to receive the tube and said bore serving as a passage through which an ink pellet may be inserted inthe tube.l and a removable closure for the bore.

IGNA'IZ SALZ. 

